Bentonville behemoth

Welcome to the Wal-Mart-ization of America, where employees earn ridiculously low wages, products are priced too irresistibly to pass up, and locally owned stores and businesses are becoming rarer than vegetarian Eskimos. For more, read the cover story beginning on page 13.

Mark Panagos

Briargate

Software configuration manager

Is Wal-Mart good or evil? Both. They do what they're allowed within our capitalistic framework, but they have this evil notion that they should drive Kmart out of business.

Do you have any qualms about patronizing Wal-Mart? I shop there if it offers the best deal. I have to look after myself.

Should there be a moratorium on the number of Wal-Marts allowed in a community? Probably not. They're doing a better job of surviving than other stores. However, I hate to see mom and pop stores pushed out by gigantic corporations like Wal-Mart.

Describe your feelings about the Wal-Mart culture. They do everything possible to cut costs, but one way they do it is by hiring the elderly and people who otherwise couldn't get jobs, and then take advantage of them.

What would it take for you to work at Wal-Mart? It would have to be just about the last possible job available on earth. I can't survive on what they pay.

Heather Jaggers

Briargate

Tejon Street Market

Is Wal-Mart good or evil? They drive out smaller, independently owned stores. They give many of their employees lousy hours. They're filling up landfills with all their crap.

Do you have any qualms about shopping Wal-Mart? I try to avoid it, but every once in a while I need something that they carry. Wal-Mart has made me think more about what smaller, independent stores are, though.

Is a moratorium on Wal-Mart constructions needed? The Wal-Mart industry may be great for the stock market and buyers of that stock, but Wal-Mart has too much power and it's too destructive. I don't want to see the country filled with Wal-Marts, and that's the direction we're headed.

Describe the Wal-Mart culture. They sell themselves as red-white-and-blue job providers to the community, and their employees are your friendly next-door neighbors.

What would it take for you to work at Wal-Mart? I'd have to die and go to hell first. I'd have to change who I am to work there.

Elsie Mercil

Penrose Hospital area

Retired food service

Is Wal-Mart good or evil? It brings some economy in, but their employees aren't treated very nice.

Do you ever feel bad about shopping at Wal-Mart? I'm satisfied with the products I buy there, and they are reasonably priced compared to other places.

Should Wal-Mart have free reign to go wherever it wants? No, because they drive out competitors. Many rural areas don't want Wal-Mart because it destroys their way of life.

What would it take for you to be a Wal-Mart employee? I wouldn't. I want an employer that halfway cares about me as a person.